The Audiobooks.com Podcast | Let Us Tell You A Story

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Welcome back to the Audiobooks.com Podcast! We’re so glad you’re joining us for this installment where we take a step back to check in on what we’re listening to and review a couple recently completed audiobooks. In addition to finally discussing Ready Player One, Addy also gives us a synopsis of and her reaction to Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone. Hopefully this will be a great segue into next week because we have the distinct privilege of speaking with the author of Every Last Word herself! We hope that you will join us for that interview.

Popular, But Bad?

Before jumping into our reviews of Ready Player One and Every Last Word, we explore a handful of books in popular culture that have been categorized as overhyped. Many books receive a lot of attention or a lot of praise either by the media or by a particular subset of people, but it doesn’t necessarily indicate a work of excellent fiction. In fact, in many circles, book lovers might classify these books as bad!

We fully acknowledge that judgments of this sort are highly subjective. Books on this list include the likes of Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games series, and Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, which all have enormous fan bases and have received critical acclaim in certain respects. It is interesting to see what people are reading, what is trending on the New York Times’ Best Seller List, and contrast that with the opinions and reviews of those books elsewhere.

We found a surprising number of classics that often fall under this banner as well. One such book is Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, originally published in the U.S. in 1958. Shortly following its release in the United States, a columnist for the New York Times wrote a rather harsh review of the book, not just highly critical of the book’s content, but also critical of the snobbish intellectuals who gave the book so much momentum following its release in Paris several years earlier. At one point, the reviewer wrote: “There are two equally serious reasons why it isn’t worth any adult reader’s attention. The first that it is dull… The second is that it’s repulsive.”

A contemporary of this reviewer for The Atlantic, had nearly the exact opposite reaction. He closes his review by stating: “It is one of the funniest serious novels I have ever read; and the vision of its abominable hero…brings into grotesque relief the cant, the vulgarity, and the hypocritical conventions that pervade the human comedy.” As Addy states on the podcast, it’s important to take each review and recommendation with a grain of salt, to understand the reviewer’s general interests and to understand the subtext of taste. For every person who raves about a novel, there will be someone else to cut it down.

Another classic that got its start with a bad review is Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, originally published in 1936. The reviewer found it riddled with convention—conventional dialogue, conventional characters—and yet states that Mitchell’s style is rather unconventional for an early 20th century female novelist. The reviewer leaves the reader with a notion of puzzlement, as he praises the efforts of the author but has no distinct praise for the story. Now, over 75 years later, the book is regarded often as one of the greatest books of all times. In 2011, for the 75th Anniversary of the book’s publication, TIME Magazine published an article that claimed Gone With the Wind has transcended criticism, along with Star Wars, in that it will never lose its relevance.

Shaping Our Time

Despite the critical or common reviews of books in popular culture, it is clear that these are the books shaping our times. Books like Ready Player One might not be literary masterpieces, but they are highly indicative of modern culture along the projected continuum of human history by presenting realistic peeks into possible futures. Given a certain set of scenarios, and a little imagination, we get a raw look at what could happen. Perhaps we won’t see a future exactly like the one Wade Watts experiences in The Oasis, but the internet has certainly connected us to a virtual reality that is quickly becoming more fibrous than the physical world.

The last century of books has brought with it an uptick in disturbingly possible dystopian future scenarios. Brave New World in 1932. 1984 in 1948. Fahrenheit 451 in 1953. A Clockwork Orange in 1962. The Giver in 1993. And then, more recently, cultural phenoms like The Hunger Games and Divergent. As much as our society can produce visionaries that seek to find solutions to the earth’s problems, we also have novelists to paint word pictures about unpleasant futures that seem to be a direct result of humanity left unchecked.

All of the dystopian novels listed above are currently available for your listening pleasure at Audiobooks.com! What is your favorite dystopian novel of the last century?

Halloween Cometh

We’re just a few weeks away from Halloween, so we want you to be ready to freak yourself out! Check out one of our recommendations for seasonal listening: The Edgar Allen Poe audio collection, Dracula, and The Invisible Man. What are you listening to for the Halloween season? Let us know so we can pass along the tips!

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Books & Resources Mentioned

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Every Last Word by Tamara Ireland Stone

The Edgar Allan Poe Audio Collection

Dracula

The Invisible Man

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Site: http://www.audiobooks.com/podcast | Email: [email protected]

It’s officially Autumn! Grab a pumpkin spice latte, queue up an audiobook, and breathe in the sweet scents of the season. But before all that, we have a great installment of the Audiobooks.com Podcast to share with you. This week we had the opportunity to speak with Michele Cobb, the executive director of Audio Publishers Association (APA) and owner of MLC Consulting, a PR, sales, marketing and business development service for the publishing industry.

With an extensive background in directing and entertainment, Michele brings a unique perspective and knowledge set to the podcast, sharing insight into the demographics of audiobook listeners today as well as why audiobooks have seen an increase in popularity over the past decade. Once again, we get to hear about the power of audiobooks to entertain and educate and how they are becoming a vital tool in our society.

Listener Demographics

As the realm of audiobooks expands, it’s interesting to see how the core demographic of audiobook listeners also fluctuates. Michele presents us with some observations from a recent consumer survey that captures a snapshot of the current listener base and in addition to seeing that audiobook listening is on the rise, also sees that listenership is increasing amongst younger audiences. While the typical expectation is that the dominant listener base is in the 45 and up range, they are seeing significant growth among listeners in the 25 to 45 range.

Based on other statistics and observations Michele provides, it’s becoming easier to see why there is increasing growth in this area. Not only are audiobooks becoming more widespread, not only are they better produced and better funded, but they’re also becoming more accessible. In the last five years we’ve seen the creation of smartphone apps and the availability of borrowing digital audiobooks from a library, both which cater to that younger audience.

Building the Industry

If you’re reading the show notes for this podcast, we assume, at a minimum, that you are aware of the existence of audiobooks. But possibly a more accurate assumption is that you are more invested than most in the lifecycle, health, and growth of audiobooks. For as much as we love audiobooks here on the podcast, it’s amazing to think that many people don’t know about their availability and ease of access. But that is still the case in many cities around the United States!

Last summer, APA kicked off its largest consumer awareness campaign in the form of an AudiobookMobile designed to draw attention to the audio format of books and introduce listeners to the medium. Michele said that this campaign was both fun and informative, as it provided a unique opportunity to engage with people in local libraries about the benefits of audiobooks and their place in education, not just for entertainment purposes.

In addition to raising awareness, APA is also concerned with the internal health of narrators, publishers and authors. For the last several years, APA has sponsored a conference, the Audiobook Publishers Association Conference, which is dedicated to networking and education its members. The conference is their opportunity to have the face to face interaction with one another to discuss best practices, to hear insights from other people in the industry, and come into a common mind about the direction of the industry.

In Queue

Michele shares a couple audiobook suggestions with us before signing off! Her favorite audiobook, she says, is Blindness by Jose Saramago. This book is narrated by Jonathan Davis and runs 12 hours and 30 minutes. The uniqueness of this book, Michele says, is that it has very little punctuation and can be very difficult to read. But Davis, the narrator, does a very good job at bringing it to life.

Recently in her queue is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, a work of historical fiction and romance originally published in 1938. This book is narrated by Anna Massey and runs 14 hours and 15 minutes.

What’s in your queue?

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Books & Resources Mentioned

Blindness by Jose Saramago

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Audio Publishers Association

Sound Learning from APA

Connect with Michele Cobb

Site: http://www.audiobooks.com/podcast | Email: [email protected]

Welcome back to the Audiobooks.com Podcast! This week we have a very different show for you, but one we’ll hope you’ll enjoy as a book lover. To start things off, we discuss some of the audiobooks that were recently released and our interest in them, then get into some of the books we’ve been listening to.

The core of our discussion revolves around some controversies occurring right now in the book industry. Many of the decisions that have been made surrounding these incidents bear a significant impact on the creative side to the business of books and audiobooks, and we wanted to take the time to explore some of these issues. Taking a serious look at them, we believe, makes us better consumers and equips us with the knowledge we need to make informed decisions and support those who need to be supported. Exercising our consumer rights can be the loudest weapon we have against the creative types who are being manipulated by the money-driven machine that fuels them.

ON THE RADAR

Mindy Kaling’s newest book, Why Not Me, was released on September 15, 2015. She reads much of the book herself, but also has other voices making appearances on the audiobook production, including Greg Daniels (known for his work on Saturday Night Live and The Office) and B. J. Novak (writer and fellow co-star on The Office).

Kaling’s first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), which was released in 2011, received mixed responses amongst critics. As her writing style ranges from prose to a more blogging-feel, Mindy herself reads the audiobook, with help from Michael Schur, and brings it to life with a more conversational tone. She covers topics from recounting experiences in Hollywood to childhood memories.

Why Not Me is a collection of humorous essays of Mindy’s mission to find a balance of fulfillment and joy in life, from love to weight loss. And we hear it is one heck of a chuckler!

Also on our radar is a book from singer-songwriter Jewel, entitled Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story. As far as typical celebrity memoirs go, this one is on the longer side. The audiobook is 10 hours and 30 minutes long, but it is read by Jewel herself.

We are familiar with Jewel’s early albums, such as her debut Pieces of You from 1995, but the singer has been releasing albums almost every year or two throughout the 2000s. This memoir isn’t the first publication Jewel has released. She published a book of poetry in 1998 entitled A Night Without Armor, and then an autobiography in 2000 called Chasing Down the Dawn, which chronicled her journey from Alaska to the world’s stage.

Never Broken seems to be Jewel’s second stab at an autobiography, but one that is already being met with great reviews! We’re excited to check it out.

Putting Up Guards

Here at Audiobooks.com, we’re all about supporting the creative geniuses behind the books and materials we enjoy. As consumers, we have the poignant power to show publishing companies our opinions through choosing to purchase, or not purchase, a book or audiobook instead of complaining. However, we’re neither advocating nor supporting a boycott in these situations we bring up, rather we want to bring to light that when the creative process is mistreated by someone intent on making a sell, we have the opportunity to respond to that in kind.

The two controversial situations we examine at length are Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman and the late Steig Larsson’s The Girl In the Spider’s Web. While some books are currently receiving heat for their accuracy, such as Wednesday Martin’s The Primates of Park Avenue, these books are brought to our attention because of the publisher’s role in releasing a creative work that the author, arguably, had no say in due to death or mental acuity.

What makes matters difficult for fans, we think, is a desire to respect the creative process of an author while still having an insatiable curiosity to discover what the book holds. Fans of the first three novels released by Steig Larsson under the Millennium Series are no doubt anxious to read the rumored 7 books that remain. Following Larsson’s death in 2004, the hope of reading any further seemed to be dashed.

In that same vein, Harper Lee’s 1960 novel To Kill A Mockingbird was an immediate success, winning Lee a Pulitzer. But the reactions by Lee and her family, following the books release, make it difficult to justify reading the book. How much of the book was changed from Lee’s original manuscript? Did she have a say in the changes that were made? Is this book really deserving of Lee’s name under the authorship?

When controversy like this arises, what is your response? Do you find yourself interested to read the final product of a long, legal battle, or do you pass on the newly published work in favor of respect for an author? Or is there an option C? We’d love to hear opinions on this, because we’re at a crossroads over what the right course is to take.

Coming Up

Brian is still making his way through Ready Player One, but we promise that a full review of that audiobook is coming up soon! In the meantime, Addy is still learning Italian, so we may need a translator in an upcoming episode for when she becomes fluent!

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Books & Resources Mentioned

Audiobooks.com Book Sale

Mindy Kaling’s Favorties

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half The Story by Jewel

Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

The Girl in the Spider’s Web

Site: http://www.audiobooks.com/podcast | Email: [email protected]

Welcome back to the Audiobooks.com Podcast! This week we are joined by Amy Robles of Think Enriched, a podcast dedicated to money management. As a self-described former spender, Amy attributes the motivation to getting a handle on debt largely to some very influential audiobooks. We are so excited to share Amy’s insight into the unique experience audiobooks afford and her recommendations for books in a new genre.

MONEY MANAGEMENT

The spectrum of a single genre is tremendous and we love to explore new realms of those spectrums here on the Audiobooks.com Podcast. This is the first opportunity we’ve had to dive into the money and wealth management genre, but it is interesting to see how relevant previous discussions have been to where the conversation takes us this week. Coming off of audiobooks like Do the Work by Steven Pressfield and Purple Cow by Seth Godin, Amy’s experiences with money management books is familiar.

Although books and audiobooks relate the same core material, the experience we have while absorbing the information can be extraordinarily different. The most obvious differences are factors like the act of listening versus reading or having someone else manufacture intonation of the narrator and characters, but there also is the factor of sharing the listening experience with one or more people.

Amy shares a great story about a long drive home after a vacation, shared with a close friend, in which they listened to a chapter of You’re Broke Because You Want To Be by Larry Winget. Her story is such a great example of how sharing the experience of listening to an audiobook can both help pass the time and instigate conversation that might not happen otherwise. There is something about that shared experience that creates a different level of conversation than a typical book club.

We love hearing stories about how listening to an audiobook opened up opportunities for discussion. Got one to share with us?

BRAIN CANDY

We absolutely love this new genre of books Amy introduced to us! Brain candy books, as Amy describes them, are books that can help pass the time while performing tedious tasks. In her situation, she had taken up quilting and in one week made it through all four Twilight books. Imagine all the books we could listen to while doing basic household chores! From mowing the lawn to vacuuming to dishes, pop in an audiobook and make those multi-tasking braincells do some work.

The mention of Twilight got us talking about a host of fantasy and science fiction brain candy books! While neither Amy nor Addy are big science fiction fans, they can appreciate books like Twilight and Harry Potter, even if their preferences are in other genres. And, as Amy says, it’s okay to like what’s good for you!

TAKEAWAY

As usual, we ask our guest about what she’d spend that one credit on if she had it. In line with other recommendations like The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod, Total Money Makeover by David Ramsey and E-Myth by Michael E. Gerber, Amy pulls up a tasty morsel for us: The Wealthy Barber by David Chilton.

Go show Amy’s podcast some love and pick up an audiobook she recommended! Then report back and tell us how your experience was.

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Books & Resources Mentioned

You’re Broke Because You Want To Be by Larry Winget

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason

As A Man Thinketh by James Allen

The E-Myth Revisted by Michael E. Gerber

Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey

Dr. Wayne W. Dyer Books

Joel Osteen Books

Zig Ziglar Books

Star Wars

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Amy Robles - ThinkEnriched.com

Site: http://www.audiobooks.com/podcast | Email: [email protected]

This week on the Audiobooks.com Podcast, Addy and the Real Brian sit down to chat with Pat Flynn, author of the book Let Go, which was released in April of 2013 and narrated by the author, that shares the journey he took from architect to entrepreneur extraordinaire. What we love about this interview with Pat is the inspiration he is to countless people who find themselves in the same situation he was as depicted in his book. Now we have the special opportunity to ask him about his process, about his craft, and about what he is currently working on so that we get to share with you why his book is worth your credit.

THE WORK

An author, a podcaster, a business owner, a father, a husband, a friend. Pat Flynn wears many hats, but he’s making it work in a way he never could have imagined. Let Go is Pat’s very vulnerable, very authentic account of how he took his future by the horns and decided to either succeed or fail by his own merit. Doing so brought him through many trials, but ones that were necessary in order to get him to where he is now.

Where Let Go was a memoir, of sorts, Pat’s new project is more intentional about providing actionable value to his readers. There are a lot of books on finding inspiration for ideas in all aspects of creative or entrepreneurial endeavors, and then there are a lot of books on how to build that idea. But Pat saw a gaping hole between those two popular points of assistance, and that is in how to determine whether the idea you’ve come up will work out for you.

Pat says his superpower is being able to walk people through really complicated things in a simple way. By providing a series of thought experiments and metrics, he wants to enable his readers to analyze their current situation and walk away with a definitive plan of how to move forward. Whether that is giving yourself permission to pursue that idea, or to understand how the idea needs to evolve in order to move forward, he wants it to help people take action.

We’re huge fans of Pat’s first book and cannot wait for the second!

THE CRAFT

In addition to talking about his next project, Pat also goes into his own process for writing and concept development. Whether you’re an aspiring writer or just like to hear about writers behind the scenes, it’s a treat to hear how Pat utilizes post-it notes in order to outline and develop his book. As we interview more authors and narraters it’ll become more and more evident that everyone finds a process that works for them and it’ll often be drastically different from anything we’ve heard previously. And yet there is always a process.

Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft was hugely successful largely because of the popularity that King has seen with his fiction novels, but also because it is part memoir part exposé into his process of writing. Like Pat, King had to overcome obstacles in order to achieve his aspirations, and through it all he acquired knowledge, experience, and confidence which he chose to share in the form of this book.

Passion drives us to act, and it is authors like Pat Flynn who want to help us act. We are very grateful to Pat for taking the time to discuss his process, share what he’s working on, and talk a bit about his journey to where he is today.

PAT’S RECOMMENDATIONS

Because he spends so much time writing non-fiction, Pat uses audiobooks in order to escape reality. He’s recently listened to The Martian by Andy Weir and Ready Player One, which we’ve talked about many times on this podcast and will be reviewing in the upcoming weeks. However, Pat’s recommendation for spending a single credit actually lands on Dale Carnegie’s How To Win Friends and Influence People.

Go listen, and show Pat some love!

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Books & Resources Mentioned

Let Go by Pat Flynn

Smart Passive Income

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Site: http://www.audiobooks.com/podcast | Email: [email protected]

Welcome back to the Audiobooks.com podcast! We are so excited to share with you some of the items on our reading list, discuss a bit of how narrators have impacted our audiobook choices, and hint as to what's coming next. We hope that by sharing some of the things we are reading (or listening to), it will encourage you to read them as well so that we can have a discussion about these audiobooks.

There is plenty to discuss from a technical, or even entertainment, side of audiobooks, but here at the Audiobooks.com podcast we are avid book lovers. What good is discussing an audiobook without actually discussing what the book is made of?

NEWS

In August of 2015, Thug Notes: A Street-Smart Guide to Classic Literature was released. The book is written by Sparky Sweets, Ph. D., and the audiobook is narrated by Greg Edwards, running 6 hours and 19 minutes in length. Whether you know classic literature like the back of your hand, or you never have anything to comment on when the discussion is brought up in social circles, this book was written for everyone who has a funny bone.

The book is based off a web series from 2013, hosted by the author, and are still available on YouTube (search for Thug Notes, you’ll find it!). You might call it colloquial, insofar that it speaks in familiar conversation (depending on your definition of familiar), you might call it a parody, but it astutely finds its way to the heart of each piece of classic literature, makes the work appealing and comprehensible, and far less daunting. Maybe it’ll make you actually want to read Crime and Punishment!

UPCOMING

It’s still the beginning of September, but October is quickly approaching! As we finally start to bring out the sweaters and jeans, request pumpkin spice lattes at the cafe, and watch the leaves turn, it’s also time to start thinking about the season of reading. Next month we’ll be diving into some horror and suspense novels! The likes of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Chuck Palahniuk, Dan Simmons… Or if you want to go a bit further back, the father of horror H. P. Lovecraft or Henry James.

There are plenty of options, so stay tuned to hear what we’re reading, and send us an email if you have a recommendation!

IMPORTANCE OF THE NARRATOR

In talking about possibilities for our horror and suspense kick in October, Addy shares that she was just not able to get into Stephen King’s Finders Keepers, narrated by actor Will Patton. Patton has a very unique voice and is generally very crucial to the characters he plays on television and film. But this brought up a very interesting discussion of how a narrator can make or break a book. When a narrator’s voice is too unique, does it turn you off?

The face-off of narrators this week ended up being Wil Wheaton vs Will Patton, as Addy said it took no time at all to cruise through the first six chapters of Ready Player One narrated by Wil Wheaton. Brian expressed a concern, before beginning the audiobook himself, over whether he’d like Wheaton as a voice actor having enjoyed his presence in a little space odyssey you might have heard of… Star Trek?

THE CONFIDENCE CODE

In preparation for this week’s episode, Addy listened to The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance. The book was written by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman and released back in April of 2014. The audiobook is narrated by Sandy Rustin and runs 6 hours and 47 minutes.

This book comes highly recommended by Addy, for women and men. Though the book is directed toward women, its truths aren’t specific to women. Utilizing science and society’s understanding of confidence, this book breaks down the different layers that comprise the often ambiguous state of being. Confused either with arrogance, when used in excess, or self-loathing, when not used at all, this book’s usefulness comes in how it breaks down what confidence is, how our body uses it and interprets it, and why women use it so differently than men.

Fair warning, it’s a bit science-heavy. Technical terms aside, it’s interesting, at the very least, to be clued in to how involved all the processes are. If you struggle with confidence, like many do, this book provides some reassurance that what is happening to your body occurs for a variety of reasons and that those reasons are conquerable! This book isn’t a how-to, but it does assert that we are capable of learning to be confident.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Addy is learning Italian! Capitalizing on Audiobooks.com’s supply of Pimsleur audiobooks, she will be working her way through those language helpers. And, in the meantime, Rework by Jason Fried is also in her queue (narrated by Mike Chamberlain).

Brian is reading Ready Player One, as discussed, and we’ll be ready to talk about that book in a week or two! He also got interested in Thug Notes and wants to start that audiobook as well.

What’s in your queue? Let us know!

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Books & Resources Mentioned

The Confidence Code by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay

Finders Keepers by Stephan King

Thug Notes by Sparky Sweets PhD

Learn To Speak Italian with Pimsleur Learning Programs

Rework by Jason Fried

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

This week on the Audiobooks.Com Podcast, Brian and Addy are joined by Patrick Lawlor, an audiobooks narrator with over 300 recordings to his name spreading across multiple genres. We had a phenomenal discussion with Patrick on everything from what he is currently working on, to his process of choosing gigs and recording an audiobook, to the highs and lows of his career.

NEWS

We don’t spend a lot of time in the news section of the podcast this week, because there is so much goodness to share from our interview with Patrick, but there is one exciting thing worth sharing. Michael Crichton’s Terminal Man was made into an audiobook! Released at the beginning of this month, the 1972 novel is 6 and a half hours long and is read by Luke Daniels. Check out our website for more details!

INTERVIEW

The past few weeks we’ve been discussing the books we’ve been listening to and talking about the saturated book market, in terms of just how many choices there are for audiobooks these days. Chances are that newly published books will also be getting an accompanying audiobook. At the end of episode five of this podcast, our guest host, Mark, told us he’d spend a credit based on a narrator, rather than a specific book. We hope that through interviews, such as the one in this episode with Patrick Lawlor, we’re able to provide you with the voice of a narrator that will help you narrow down your next audiobook choice.

Through Patrick’s chat with us, we hope you can get a great feel for his presence in an audio drama setting. Even though he is not the author, he is telling a story, and it lends a great deal of credibility, we believe, to hear about the narrator’s approach to reading a specific book. He has great, clear pronunciation and rhythm that lends nicely to a conversation about his craft.

It is clear that Patrick takes his job very seriously, both on the mic and off. We had the opportunity to ask him about how he stays healthy and prevents his voice from becoming hoarse and mangled after all that talking (he says he’s on a kick, churning out a book a week!). Patrick has some great tips for how he keeps his voice sounding and feeling good, some of the changes he’s had to make personally in order to achieve those ends, and then goes into foods and drinks and supplements to avoid that are particularly damaging to the throat and vocal chords.

Throughout the podcast, Patrick mentions several books and authors of which he is a fan, either through the enjoyment of recording the book himself or enjoying the audiobook as a fan. Patrick calls himself a mystery fan, cop dramas specifically, but also a romance fan. He mentions The Troubleshooters by Suzanne Brockman, a series about Navy Seals, private security, and the women who love them. He also mentions the Detective Jones series from author L. J. Sellers.

And though he’s not currently listening to any audiobooks, Patrick is interested in getting his hands on Go Set a Watchman, the follow up, and sequel, to To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. This book is narrated by Reese Witherspoon and the book itself rocked the New York Times best-seller list the week of its release this summer, selling 1.1 million copies.

It was a pleasure to speak with Patrick and chat about his experiences in the audiobook narration realm. We certainly learned some unique aspects to the side of a business we don’t often hear about. One comment he made in particular that resonated with us was pertaining to the question of whether he reads the books before he begins to record them. Patrick says he does for a couple reasons, but one big reason is this: “In order to get some place successfully, you need to kind of know where you are going.” And, he says, it helps to read the book ahead of time.

The full list of audiobooks that Patrick has read can be found at Audiobooks.Com!

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Books & Resources Mentioned

Connect with Patrick Lawlor on Twitter

Elvis and The Underdogs

Merles Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog by Ted Kerasote

Warriors by George R.R. Martin

Go Set a Watchman

Carl Hiaasen Books

L.J. Sellers

Suzanne Brockmann

The Troubleshooters Series

The Brave Ones

Life in a Jar

Site: http://www.audiobooks.com/podcast | Email: [email protected]

Welcome back to the Audiobooks.com podcast! This episode of the podcast was released on September 1, 2015 and, as such, we take a look at the season, the challenges and excitements of the upcoming months, and what we look forward to most! (Pumpkin latte, anyone? Not yet? Ok.)

Once again, Addy and Brian chose to review very complementary audiobooks in the business and personal development genre. Addy reviews Do the Work by Steven Pressfield, while Brian reviews Purple Cow by Seth Godin.

News

Girl on the Train is being made into a movie! (Note: this is not the 2013 thriller starring Henry Ian Cusick.) The psychological thriller published in January by author Paula Hawkins was optioned by DreamWorks and is already getting some buzz over the casting of the characters. One major change already rumored in the course of the book's adaptation is that the film will likely take place in upstate New York, as opposed to the English backdrop of the story. As this change does not seem to cause the author to lose sleep, it shall be interesting to see what The Help's Tate Taylor will do with the film.

The audiobook for Girl on the Train is narrated by Clare Corbett and Louise Brealey and is 11 hours long.

The penultimate book in the Lorien Legacies series, The Fate of Ten, is scheduled for release September 1, 2015. The first book of the series, I Am Number Four, was released back in 2010 and subsequently had a film adapted in its honor, starring Alex Pettyfer and Timothy Olyphant. Neither the box office numbers nor the critical response of the film were anything to get excited over and the sequel was shelved.

The six books thus far in the Lorien Legacies series have one narrator in common, Neil Kaplan, but use an array of narrators for different voices. Each book hovers around the 10 hour mark.

Audiobook Reviews

Often called a manifesto, Steven Pressfield's Do The Work is an action guide that helps readers address points of resistance along the road to the completion of a project. Interestingly, the foreword is written by the author of the book that Brian listened to, Seth Godin, and in it he writes: "It will help you understand why you're stuck; it will kick you in the pants, and it will get you moving."

The book was originally published in April of 2011 is a follow up to Pressfield’s 2002 non-fiction book The War of Art (not to be confused with The Art of War by Sun Tzu, which Brian reviewed last week). Both books address the enemy of creativity and how to empower oneself to rise above the fear often accompanied by participating in a world where criticism and roadblocks abound. Whether you're a creative type or an entrepreneur, this book can bring you step by step through the process of overcoming that fear and resistance in order to produce your desired result. And Pressfield does it all in 1 hour and 26 minutes!

Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin follows a very similar vein, but is pleasantly complementary to Do The Work. The 2003 book is 3 hours in length and, like Do the Work, is also narrated by its author.

The phrase purple cow comes from a 1895 poem by Gelett Burgess:

I never saw a Purple Cow,

I never hope to see one;

But I can tell you, anyhow,

I'd rather see than be one.

The short, quippy poem became popular very quickly and Burgess actually came to regret writing it. He wrote a follow up poem in 1897, the last line of which reads: "I'll Kill you if you Quote it!" Most authors would kill for that kind of popularity, not kill because of the popularity.

Despite the author's backtracking, the poem has a unique nuance in modern culture. It can be read as embracing the idea of sticking to the status quo because sticking out is harder than fitting in, but Godin takes a different approach. Godin embraces the heart of this poem by pointing out that, as a society, we are saturated in choices that have few differences. The status quo, the traditional marketing techniques, no longer cut it in our fast-paced, mostly-online culture, and this idea of putting a purple cow into everything you do embraces the idea of being different. In one interview, Godin says: "Purple Cow is about the inexorable decline in the effectiveness of advertising and what to do about it." It's not effective to be status quo; don't see the purple cow, be the purple cow!

Start with Pressfield's book, learn to overcome the fears that hold you back from achieving your dreams, then read Godin's book to discover how being the purple cow of your industry will produce the type of results you're looking for! Then report back and tell us how you did!

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Books & Resources Mentioned

Do The Work by Steven Pressfield | Narrated by Steven Pressfield

Purple Cow by Seth Godin | Narrated by Seth Godin

The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins | Narrated bu Clare Corbett, Louise Brealey

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore | Narrated by Neil Kaplan

Site: http://www.audiobooks.com/podcast | Email: [email protected]

Welcome back to the Audiobooks.com Podcast! In this installment of the podcast, Addy and Brian discuss some exciting developments happening in the book world, then jump into reviews of audiobooks they’ve recently listened to. Whether it was intentional, or a happy accident, they both review an audiobook that have a theme of understanding other people.

In The News

Back in the beginning of July, the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team won the World Cup for the first time in 16 years. It was an extremely exciting time for the United States and for soccer fans in general. The U.S. has a talented squad and was able to secure a win for the USA against Japan, which was the first World Cup rematch in the history of the women’s competition, as the USA faced Japan, and lost, in the 2012 World Cup final.

A major component to that successful drive was Carli Lloyd, the starting midfielder for the U.S. Women’s National Team. Not only did Carli Lloyd record a hat trick (three goals) in the first 16 minutes during the World Cup final, she was involved in five very important goals that catapulted the USA from the last game in the knockout stage into the quarterfinals against China, and then semifinals against Germany.

After Carli Lloyd scored her third goal in the 16th minute of play in 2015 Women’s World Cup final, one of the commentators said, “That’s not a fluke, that’s not luck. That’s Carli Lloyd.” But who is Carli Lloyd? The 33-year-old from New Jersey has become a household name after more than 200 appearances in international games for the United States over the last ten years. Her journey to that success is about to be explored. Lloyd recently signed a book deal to scratch out a memoir about her life and career. Lloyd has an incredible story to tell about commitment, about dedication, and about realizing that not everything in life can be solved by natural talent and ability. The memoir is certain to be inspiring!

In other news, the author of Ready Player One, Ernest Cline, released a follow-up book to his first success this summer entitled Armada. Like his first book, this one is also narrated by Will Wheaton. Cline has already signed a huge deal for a third book, but in the meantime, Steven Spielberg will direct the film version of Ready Player One, due for release in December of 2017.

The Art Of War

Brian listened to The Art of War by Sun Tzu and narrated by Michael Scott. This book often gets a lot of attention in popular media, almost as a book of proverbs for businessmen and strategists. The book was written over 2,000 years ago and originally in Chinese, so Brian fought his way through the old-style language and funny narration to give us an idea of whether or not we should spend a credit on this book.

The lessons from the book seem to have value in certain contexts, business and military strategy being among the most frequently cited. Reading the book simply for pleasure is not out of the question, particularly if you enjoy reading about strategy and understanding opponents, but it seems like much of the book’s value comes out of reading it in context. Having in mind a situation to apply its lessons to, such as a desire to understand one’s role as a leader or to improve one’s ability to understand and analyze a business opponent, could prove to be very valuable when choosing this audiobook.

The Five Love Languages

Also in the theme of understanding others is the book Addy recently listened to: The Five Love Languages written and narrated by Gary Chapman. Addy says Chapman has a great southern accent, but really flies through the book. She recommends that if you choose to listen to this book that you also buy a hard copy to reference and highlight.

The conversation Addy and Brian have about this book is very interesting. The title of the book was constructed in such a way that may initially turn people off to its material. Love languages? Why would I want to read about that? Addy has many reasons for you to take a chance on this book that go beyond its promise to reveal the secret to love that lasts. The topic of conversation in this book centers around understanding how to love others and how others can love you; to realize that there are many ways to show love and realize that even though we might prefer to be loved through, for example, physical touch (i.e. hugs, hand holding, or simply proximity), someone else may prefer to be shown love through words of affirmation. Addy and Brian give some examples of how these love languages apply to them, as well as discuss misnomers surrounding the topic’s approach to relational conversation.

Have you listened to a book recently that falls into the category of strategy or understanding relationships? Send us an email and let us know!

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Books & Resources Mentioned

The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman | Narrated by Gary Chapman

Art of War by Sun Tau | Narrated by Erick Abraham

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Site: http://www.audiobooks.com/podcast Email: [email protected]

In the latest installment of the Audiobooks.com Podcast, The Real Brian and Addy sit down to chat with an audiobook fan who has a most interesting story of how he came to start listening to audiobooks. Mark Des Cotes, a graphic designer and podcaster, joins the fray and adds represents the science fiction and fantasy book lovers.

Mark is a great example of how audiobooks can encourage us to reach beyond the scope of our usual, go-to books. Like plays or radio programs, audiobooks are a dramatic performance and they seek to be entertaining, as well as interesting, informative, enlightening, etc. While Mark spent most of his teenage years, and possibly young adult life, reading mostly science fiction and fantasy, listening to audiobooks enabled him to take more chances with other genres. He soon grew to appreciate a wide variety of material.

One of the greatest examples Mark gives of this shift in genre preference has to do with a lifestyle change. Recently, Mark took the plunge into the world of podcasting, now owning his own podcasting company, Solo Talk Media. His attention since then has shifted largely from fictional books to self-help and business related books.

There truly are audiobooks for every kind of book lover! There will be audiobooks for when your tastes change, when your circumstances change, when you need a good laugh or a good cry, a good adventure or a good romance. How have audiobooks filled a niche in your life?

Many recommendations were made in this podcast, so let us break it down for you. First off, Mark recommends some fiction authors: Clive Cussler, Patricia Cornwall, Kathy Reichs, and Dean Koontz. Brian, who is a huge fan of oceans and ships, asked to learn more from Mark about his suggestions for a ship-lover, knowing that Cussler’s repertoire contains many maritime thrillers. Mark is quick to cite The Oregon Files, which got their start in the Dirk Pitt series. You’ll have to listen to the episode to hear Mark get into the details of why he recommends this series!

Last, but not least, Brian asks Mark the One Credit Question! If he had one free credit to spend on any book, which one would he choose? It’s difficult to choose a book, isn’t it? There are millions and millions of books. In light of this, Mark responds with a surprising, but very enlightening answer: he has favorite narrators and with that one free credit he’d look for a book narrated by Scott Brick.

A huge thank-you to Mark for taking the time to talk with The Real Brian and Addy! Are you like Mark and have favorite narrators? Leave a comment to give other listeners recommendations!

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Subscribing, rating and reviewing the show: iTunes

Books & Resources Mentioned

Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card | Narrated by Stefan Rudnicki, Harlan Ellison

Star Wars

Shannara series by Terry Brooks

A Feast For Crows: A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin | Narrated by Roy Dotrice

A Touch of Dead: Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris

Clive Cussler

Michael Connelly

Patricia Cornwell

Kathy Reich

Dean Koontz

James Patterson

Stephan King

Connect with Mark De Cotes

1. The Under The Dome Podcast